Sixteen

Summary

• The chapter begins with Adele Sparks-Sato publishing a blog post that accuses author June Hayward of plagiarizing the work of Athena Liu in her novella "Mother Witch."
• June, who was initially shocked by the accusation, falls into a numb despair as she realizes the evidence against her is strong. Given the corroborating screenshots, handwritten notes, and testimonials, it would be impossible for her to convincingly deny the accusation.
• As a coping mechanism, June chooses to disconnect from all her devices and indulge in a bottle of whisky while watching old episodes of 'Friends'.
• The next day, June notices that she has lost a significant number of followers on social media and receives a barrage of negative comments about her supposed plagiarism. She therefore deactivates her social media accounts and email notifications for the sake of her mental health.
• Her Wikipedia page is edited to describe her as a 'novelist', serial plagiarizer and flaming racist. The statement was later removed for violating Wikipedia's policy of civility, but the claims of plagiarism remain.
• Her agent Brett calls her multiple times, which June initially ignores. However, pressure from her editor prompts her to eventually respond, and she learns of a planned Zoom meeting about the issue.
• During the Zoom meeting, it becomes clear that while her publishers are not immediately dropping her, they are suspicious of her guilt. They offer her the chance to admit any collaboration with Athena Liu and suggest a solution involving shared authorship and a royalties arrangement.
• When she denies the allegations once again, they instruct her to focus on her next work and avoid social media for the time being.
• Brett informs June afterwards that the scandal has actually boosted her book sales due to right-wing commentators framing it as a 'culture war' issue.
• However, her day takes a turn when Athena's mother, Patricia Liu, calls her about the scandal, revealing that Adele Sparks-Sato has asked her for Athena's notebooks. June once again denies the accusations and Mrs. Liu seems to accept this without digging further.